


tonio

by yaboiiiigrass



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Backstory, Canon Era, F/M, Gen, M/M, and kinda angsty, idfk i’m too lazy to tag this, this is old sry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18537460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaboiiiigrass/pseuds/yaboiiiigrass
Summary: tonio disappeared from the brooklyn lodge without a trace3 days later, racetrack higgins appeared on the manhattan newsies doorstep





	tonio

tonio was as brooklyn as brooklyn could be. quiet, fast, and goddamn ruthless. he’d been alone selling since age 7, joined the newsies at 6. for an eleven year old, he’d grown up too fast. he knew the laws of brooklyn like he knew walking or breathing or italian, and wasn’t one for letting people break them. the boy had given his loyalties jay mccoy, the late but great leader of brooklyn, even if that meant getting his little hands dirty. and he did. until some high and mighty kid decided that mccoy had ruled a little too long and knocked him off the face of the earth. and tonio bartoli disappeared along with the leader. 

3 days later, racetrack higgins appeared on the steps of the manhattan lodging house. this was a time long before the strike and the rule of spotconlon, but not a simpler time. all he had were the clothes on his back, a few cents to his name, and a damn good alibi to go with it. the poor kid with mommy issues and a deadbeat dad with a gambling problem seemed innocent enough. so manhattan took him in with a skeptical glare, a mere twelve year old with this much shit on his back was ought to be suspicious. but nevertheless he weeded his way into the hearts of that group and soon enough, he was like family to the boisterous band of ragamuffins. 

a year passed and racetrack higgins is known as nothing but another ‘hatten boy with a sharp tongue and a cigar hanging from his lips. a boy who just so happened to hold his own in every card game in new york. if you needed to blow off some steam and play a few rounds, he could tell ya what, where, and who to go to, what to say, and exactly how each gambler dealt their cards. ‘cept for in brooklyn. he avoided the group as best he could, or kept his head down and his eyes on the cards, hoping to not get recognized. he’d spend his days hawking headlines and his nights either doubling or losing whatever he’d just earned at the racetracks or in a game of cards. then he’d crawl back home to whatever bed was open that night, bicker and joke with the guys for a bit and then crash hard. 

“racer, there’s some stuffs goin down in brooklyn that we needs to check in on. mind taggin along? i know you hate it there but you know it better than anybody here” jack asked, a wincing tone to his voice. he knew all about races past, so he knew these were hot waters but asked anyways. 

“depends on whats it about?”

“political matters. there’s a new king again in brooklyn and queens is tryna pick fights again. bronx and midtown asked if we’d help them shut it down, yous in?” race gave a curt nod before following close behind jack. the trip across the bridge wasn’t that long, the pair exchanging a few words as they walked. they were headed straight for the brooklyn circulation gate, where the fight was rumored to happen. and they were right, there was a ring of newsies facing a hole in the middle of the crowd where 2 boys stood with fists raised. 

jack spotted the boys from midtown and the bronx, waving them over to plan quickly before things got ugly. race kept his gaze trained on the fight, pointing out the queens kids from the brooklyn. most of queens was clad in grays and oranges while brooklyn stuck to its traditional scarlets and maroons. 

“race, we’s gonna go in and grab the guys outta there whiles you and smalls talk some sense into the guys” jack gestured to a small girl with a scowl and a shirt that was clearly too big for her. she nodded, tipping her hat slightly as race returned the gesture and watched as the group got ready to dive into the fray. race walked up to a random brooklyn newsie to ask what was going on. 

“so who’s the new guy?” he stated, his arms crossed and his cigar hanging loosely from his lips. 

“that there’s spot conlon, he showed up just under a year ago, round when mccoy kicked the can and his second bit it with ‘im. he just took over last month and queens is pissy” the guy turned to him, a look of confusion spreading across his face while he studied races closely. “do i’s know ya?”

race shook his head quickly, adjusting his hat so it covered his face a bit more. he knew who this was, it was stitches. he was always in charge of stitching guys up if they got soaked or worse, hence the name. they were well aquatinted when race was brooklyn. he studied him more, before a look of recognition appeared.

“that you tonio?” he gave a loud groan, knowing that he couldn’t deny it for that long.

“maybe it is stitch, whats it to ya?” stitches face lit up with glee when he hugged him, waving over a few other guys. 

“i found little tonio!! you’s ‘hatten now, eh?” race nodded, tensing at the sudden contact. there was a small huddle around him, boys tapping at his shoulders and shouting various versions of ‘i thought you were dead’. 

“hey guys, look. someone’s gotta break this up or queens might lose another king” he said, pushing through the group and dragging them with him. stitches smiled before diving into the middle of the fight with him. he quickly grabbed spot and tried to pull him off the other guy. race made an attempt to help before jack stepped in and finished the job. the new king kicked and shouted, fighting their arms with a fury matched to a rabid animal. finally they got him to a secluded corner where they could set him straight. 

“listen up conlon, i know yous king and all but you can’t be pulling stunts like this” race growled, his arms crossed and his teeth gritted. spot only glared up at him before responding. 

“what’s it to you, ‘hatten?” he spat angrily. race returned his glare with a dark look in his eyes that seemed to even give jack chills. 

“i care cuz you clearly have no regard for the laws, brooklyn looks out for brooklyn. you wouldn’t be fuckin round with queens if you understood that.”

“how’d you know that, ‘hatten?” race groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. 

“cuz i’ve been brooklyn longer than yous, ass. left cuz guys like yourself couldn’t stop killing each other over a room and a title. now listen here, and listen well. you’d better go fix whatever mess you made with in queens, we’ve got another guy given them the same chat as you, so don’t make me tell ya twice. i know these boys better than you and know exactly what’ll turn them against ya” and with that, race sauntered out of the alleyway, leaving stitches to help spot to his feet. jack stood next to him, the biggest smile on his face. 

“damn racer, i didn’t know you was suck a bad ass!” he cried happily, smacking his arm. race rolled his eyes before glancing back at brooklyn. his eyes quickly locked with the kings, flashing him a grin before walking over the bridge to the lodging house. 

a week later, conlon sent a kid over to manhattan saying that he fixed the issue with queens and to have race meet him by the docks. 

he agreed, obviously. and that was the start of the single greatest friendship in all of new york. spot conlon and racetrack higgins, a deadly duo that was ready to swing iron or spit fire at anyone who dared to mess with them. 

spot and race. 

sean and tonio.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this sucked but i felt bad for not posting anything 
> 
>  
> 
> btw love u @The_Bi_who_Lived
> 
>  
> 
> love u gang and have a super swaggy day
> 
> <3 grass


End file.
